With Eid-ul-Azha coming up soon, highway police have taken the initiative to introduce radar speed guns on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway.
The initiative was taken in the traffic jam and accident-prone areas of the highway, keeping in mind Traffic Week that started Sunday.
This step will help ensure passenger safety, thinks Comilla highway police.
Comilla zone Superintendent of police Nazrul Islam said: "Drivers tend to drive at a higher speed whenever they find an empty highway. Since the pressure of homebound travellers might increase during Eid, drivers will become even more reckless."
The use of speed guns will create awareness among drivers and reduce accidents on highways, he said.
The speed limits for long route passenger buses, microbuses and private cars have been set at a maximum of 80km, and for trucks it is 45-50km. However, most of the time, drivers exceed the limit and indulge in racing each other, causing accidents.
Different steps have been taken to curb road accidents and limit speeding on the highways on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha, said Nazrul. "Radar speed guns have been introduced from Daudkandi in Comilla to Chittagong," he said.
Every year, hundreds of people become victims of road accidents during the Eid holidays.
According to a report compiled by the passenger welfare association, Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity (BJKS), the death toll caused by road accidents frequently reaches 250 victims during Eid holidays.
More than 200 people lost their lives on the highways from June 10 to June 25 this year.
Most of the time, the accidents occur as authorities lift their vigilance during the Eid celebrations, which allows drivers to act recklessly, experts say.
The initiative to monitor the highways comes at a time when the whole country is reeling from the numerous protests that have been going on for the last week, sparked by the death of two teenagers by a bus in Dhaka on July 29.
The government has also recently approved a draft of the Road Transport Act 2018 with a maximum penalty of five years in jail and a Tk500,000 fine for fatal road accidents.
